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AGROLTURAL 
LIBRARY, 

UNIVERSITY 
CALIFORNIA. 


THE    FUTURE 


OF 


American  Agriculture, 


THE   FUTURE   OF   AGRICULTURE   IN  THE 
UNITED   STATES. 


% 
V 


AN    ADDRESS 


DKLIVERKD    BY 


nil.    I^ETER   COLLIJER, 


Director   N.    Y.   Agricultural   Experiment  Station. 


•  V^^'f^-^ 


At  the  Agricultural  Fair  of  the  South  Jury  District  held  at  Ovid, 
N.   T.,   Wedneftday,  Sept.  3,  1890. 


ADDRESS. 


Gentlemen  and  Ladies  : — 

Rather  against  my  own  judgment  but  in  accordance  with  the 
wishes  of  my  friends,  the  officers  of  this  Association,  I  have  con- 
sented to  give  you  an  informal  talk,  which  I  see  is  announced  as  a 
practical  address  upon  such  topics  as  are  of  interest  to  farmers. 

I  hope,  in  what  I  have  to  say,  to  be  very  practical.  I  promise 
you  that  I  shall  be  very  brief  and  will  not  long  detain  you  from  the 
many  things  of  interest  which  are  presented  for  your  inspectfon 
upon  these  grounds. 

You  remember  how  it  is  related  that  when  the  hosts  of  Assyria 
besieged  the  city  of  Samaria,  the  supplies  of  food  becoming  ex- 
hausted the  famine  reached  such  terrible  proportions  that  an  ass's 
head  was  sold  for  eight  score  pieces  of  silver,  and  the  inhabitants 
of  the  doomed  city  were  driven  even  to  cannibalism.  You  remem- 
ber that  at  this  crisis  in  their  affairs  the  prophet  Elisha  predicted 
that  within  the  short  period  of  twenty-four  hours  two  measures  of 
barley  would  be  sold  in  the  streets  of  that  city  for  a  shekel  and  a 
measure  of  fine  meal  for  a  shekel,  and  how  such  incredible  results 
actually  came  about  through  the  change  in  conditions  brought 
about  by  the  stampeding  of  the  beleaguring  hosts  of  Assyria. 

Now  I  am  not  a  prophet  nor  the  son  of  a  prophet,  nor  are  the 
conditions  of  our  agricultural  communities  in  such  straits  as  were 
the  people  of  that  unhappy  Jewish  capital,  though,  were  we  to  be- 
lieve much  that  is  now-a-days  said  and  published,  we  might  almost 
l»e  led  to  think  that  our  farmers  were  rapidly  passing  into  such 
conditions. 

270523 


.:  S^< 


For  one,  I  do  not  see  any  evidenoe  which  justifies  su)h  alarming 
predictions.  That  agriculture  of  late  years  and  at  present  has 
failed  to  bring  the  pecuniary  returns  whicli  it  might,  all  must 
admit,  but,  that  the  prospects  for  the  future  of  agriculture  in  this 
state  and  in  this  country  are  forbidding,  I  do  not  believe.  In  fact, 
at  the  risk  of  being  thought  optimistic,  I  wish  to  be  placed  on 
record  as  predicting  that  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief 
we  are  about  entering  upon  an  era  of  agricultural  prosperity,  the 
like  of  which,  as  a  people,  we  have  never  known,  and  which  pros- 
perity is  to  be  permanent. 

I  feel  sure  I  canuot  present  anything  which  is  of  greater  prac- 
tical value  to  you  to-day  than  to  briefly  give  you  the  reasons  for 
the  faith  which  is  in  me,  and  I  hope  that  I  may  succeed  in  con- 
vincing you  that  what  Washington  declared  to  be  '^  the  most  noble, 
the  most  healthful  and  the  most  useful  occupation  of  man  "  is 
likely  soon  also  to  become,  all  things  considered,  thp  most  profit- 
able. 

First  then  let  us  seek  to  learn  the  cause  or  causes  of  the  present 
agricultural  depression,  since  obviously  if  it  or  they  can  be  removed 
the  depression  must  cease. 

Now  we  find  upon  investigation  that  in  this  state  of  New  York, 
at  least,  such  depression  is  not  due  to  a  diminution  in  the  fertility 
of  our  lands.  This  is  so  important  a  factor  in  the  prosperity 
which  I  predict  for  the  future,  that  I  know  you  will  be  willing  to 
listen  to  the  evidence  in  its  support. 


AVE'l:iGE  YIRfjD  OP  PllII^OrP-VL    FARM    DROPS    IN    NRW   YORK 


1S63-1S70 
1871-1879 
18S0-18S3 

18)3-1870 
1871-1879 
1880-1888 


o  3 
022 


X3 


30.30,  14.9i  15.17 
33.09  14.90  1390 
39.91    1183    11.91 


100 

109. 

99. 


100.      100. 
99.8     91.6 
99.3  '   78.7 


02a 

30.33 
3:J.00 

38.81 

100. 
108.8 
95.1 


^l 


33.33 
33.15 
33.66 

100. 
99.3 
101.0 


19.77 
18.43 
13.40 

100. 
99.3 
67.8 


n 

^ 

-3  « 

^% 

0  :^ 

se  0 

Oh  22 

X2^ 

103.1 

3516. 

81.7 

3404. 

77.7 

3333. 

100. 

100. 

79.3 

95.6 

75.3 

80.3 

03    G 
O    O 

HP.- 


918. 

919. 

1346. 

100.. 
100.1 
146.6 


3 

Value  of  Hay  Crop  in  N.  Y.  1888,  $61,051,016=50.3  per  cent,  of  aggregate 

value  of  all  cro{)S. 
Value  of  Cereal,  Potato  and    T(l)a(C'0  Cn  p  in  ^'.  Y.   1888,  1 60. 282, 841  =-^9.7 

per  cent,  of  {ig^ieg«te  v«lue  (f  all  (n  ps. 
Acreage  in  Hay  in  N.  Y  in  1888,  f4,933,41C=f  5.  per  (ent.  of  total  acreage  in 

all  crops. 
Acreage  in  all  other  crops  1888,  J4,033,90C=45.  per  cent,  of  tctal  acreage  in 

all  crops. 

If  we  take  the  average  yield  of  our  leiiding  farm  crops,  corn, 
wheat,  oats,  potatoes  and  hay  for  the  past  quarter  of  a  century  and 
divide  this  period  into  those  from  18G2  to  70  ;  1871  to  79  ;  and 
1880  to  88,  we  find  that  the  average  acreage  yield  of  these  five 
crops,  the  aggregate  value  of  which  is  92  per  cent,  of  the  total 
value  of  our  leading  farm  crops,  had  fallen  cfflut  1.6  per  cent,  dur- 
ing the  second  period  from  the  average  yield  during  the  first  period; 
and  the  average  yield  of  the  third  period  was  within  8.6  per  cent, 
of  what  it  was  during  the  first  :  and  this  diminished  yield  is  per- 
haps due' in  great  measure  to  less  careful  cultivation  which  the  low 
prices  of  farm  products  seemed  in  many  cases  to  excuse,  if  they  did 
not  justify. 

On  the  other  hand  the  average  market  value  of  these  five  crops 
was,  during  the  second  period  mentioned,  only  75.6  per  cent,  of 
what  it  was  in  the  first,  and  during  the  third  period  dropped  to  an 
average  of  only  66. 9  per  cent,  of  what  these  crops  upon  the  average 
sold  for  during  the  first  period.  Jn  view  of  this  great  falling  off 
in  prices  it  appears  to  me  needless  to  seek  further  for  causes  of  the 
recent  and  present  depression,  and  I  think  that  no  one  can  doubt 
that,  with  a  restoration  of  prices  to  something  approximating 
what  they  were,  a  revival  in  agriculture  would  speedily  follow, 
and  gladness  would  take  the  place  of  despondency. 

But  it  seems  to  me,  quite  without  warrant  of  fact,  to  be  almost 
universally  concluded  that  such  restoiation  of  prices  cannot  in  the 
future  be  hoped  for,  and  upon  every  hand  we  hear  it  said  that 
''over-production  "  is  the  cause  of  all  our  woes,  and  that,  as  this  is 
likely  to  continue  indefinitely,  there  is  no  hope  of  future  escape 
from  our  present  condition  through  belter  prices,  but  only  through 
greater  economy  in  production. 

This  is  a  matter  of  extrcmest  moment,  and  deserving  our  most 
careful  consideration.  For  myself  1  cannot  accept  either  the  ex- 
planation wholly  of  ''over  production'^  nor  the  conclusion  that  it 
is  long  to  continue. 


To  me  it  seems  that  this  over-production  is  relative  rather  than 
actual,  that  it  is  determined  rather  by  the  ability  to  purchase  than 
by  the  actual  needs  of  the  consumer.  To  take  for  illuestration  our 
manufactures,  certainly  there  is  of  these  products  of  labor  an  enor- 
mous supply,  but  does  this  m  fact  surpass  or  as  yet  even  equal  the 
reasonable  desires  or  legitimate  needs  of  our  people  ?  What  woman 
would  not  be  pleased  to-day  to  add  a  new  gown  to  her  wardrobe  or 
a  new  bonnet.  What  man  of  us  who  would  not  find  a  new  suit  of 
clothes,  if  not  an  actual  necessity,  at  least  convenient ; —  of  all 
these  implements  here  on  exhibition,  how  few  would  remain  unsold 
if  what  appoi'T  more  urgent  demands  for  absolute  necessities  did 
not  compel  tne  farmer  to  careful  deliberation  over  his  expenditures. 

But  to  return  to  agricultural  products,  let  me  give  an  illustra- 
tion, and  I  purposely  select  a  product  partly  the  result  of  agricul- 
tural and  partly  of  the  manufacturing  industry,  also  a  product 
almost  wholly  imported  and  from  countries  with  which  we  have 
but  very  little  reciprocal  commerce,  so  that  it  would  naturally  hap- 
pen that  such  a  product  would  perhaps  best  illustrate  the  increase 
of  the  country  not  only  in  total  but  per  capita  consumption,  and 
best  illustrate  the  fact  that  perhaps  no  people  on  the  earth  are  to-day 
so  well  provided  with  the  necessities  or  even  luxuries  of  living  as 
are  we. 

Now,  during  the  decade  before  the  present  century,  viz. :  from 
1790  to  1890  the  annual  per  capita  consumption  of  sugar  in  the  Uni- 
ted States  was  less  than  ten  pounds  (9.65).  In  1840  it  had  increased 
to  only  fifteen  pounds.  It  doubled  during  the  next  twenty  years, 
being  thirty-one  in  1850,  and  during  the  past  thirty  years  it  has 
again  nearly  doubled,  since  the  present  annual  per  capita  con- 
sumption of  sugar  in  this  country  is  nearly  or  quite  sixty  pounds. 
Can  any  one  believe  that  with  such  a  record  there  is  reason  to 
question  the  general  prosperity  of  the  country  ? 

As  with  sugar,  so  is  it  with  many  another  article  of  consumption 
by  our  people.  It  is  estimated  that  the  per  capita  consumption  of 
breadstuffs  amounts  annually  to  an  equivalent  of  fully  eight 
bushels  of  grain,  mainly  wheat  and  corn,  **  making  the  fullest 
bread  ration  of  any  nation  in  the  world,^"  as  the  statistician  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  declares.  Indeed  it  is  proverbial  that 
as  a  people  we  are  almost  prodigal  in  our  expenditures  for  food 
supplies.    But  1  wish  to  call  attention  to  the  several  points  which 


to  me  appear  to  prove  that  we  are  upon  the  eve  of   what   I  believe 
will  prove  the  golden  age  of  our  agriculture. 

•First; — The  population  of  the  country  is  very  rapidly  increas- 
ing ;  from  1860  to  1870  it  increased  23  per  cent ;  and  from  1870 
to  1880,  30  per  cent;  so  that,  if  the  same  increase  is  continued, 
as  there  appears  no  reason  to  doubt,  the  present  census  will  show 
a  population  of  65,200,000;  but  the  increase  of  those  living  in  cities 
has  been  more  rapid.  There  were  in  1880  nearly  13  times  as  many 
people  in  the  United  States  as  in  1790,  but  over  86  times  as  many 
living  in  cities  in  1880  as  in  1790.  The  increase  of  population  was 
from  1860  to  '70,  23  per  cent.^of  those  living  in  cities  59  percent.; 
the  increase  of  population  from  1870  to  1880  was  30  per  cent.;  but  of 
those  living  in  cities  40  per  cent.,  from  1860  to  1880  the  increase 
in  population  was  60  per  cent.,  but  of  those  living  in  cities,  123 
per  cent.  Nearly  one-fourth  of  all  our  people  live  in  cities  and 
since  then  the  number  has  vastly  increased,  and  1  think  relatively 
so.  We  see  then  that  agriculturally  the  consumers  are  increasing 
far  more  rapidly  than  the  producers. 

Second: — The  number  of  farms  in  the  United  States  has  nearly 
doubled  (96  per  cent,  increase)  from  1860  to  1880 ;  while  the  aver- 
age acreage  in  the  farms  has  diminished  during  this  same  period 
33  per  cent. ;  both  facts  of  very  great  significance,  as  evidence  that 
the  area  of  arable  land  was  diminishing  relative  to  the  increase  in 
the  number  of  those  who  desire  to  engage  in  agriculture. 

Third  : — While  the  area  in  farms  increased  from  1860  to  1880, 
82  per  cent.,  the  improved  land  in  farms  increased  75  cent. ;  show- 
ing that  increase  of  tillable  lands  was  mainly  secured  by  improving 
lands  already  occupied, 

Fourth  : — While  the  improvements  of  lands  has  gone  on  rapidly 
the  farms  have  been  growing  steadily  s/naller,  the  improved  lands 
in  farms  having  fallen  off  from  1860  to '80,  11  percent.,  while 
the  unimproved  land  on  farms  diminished  47  per  cent. 

Fifth  ; — And  to  this  1  call  your  particular  attention  in  connect- 
ion with  this  so-called  over-production.  The  Statistician  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  in  a  recent  report  after  an  extended 
investigation  of  the  subject  of  Agriculture  Exports,  says :  '*It 
appears  that  the  proportion  of  all  agricultural  products  exported 
is  about  10  per  cent.,  or,  exclusive  of  cotton  and  tobacco,  5  per 
cent.'' 


Now  of  our  agricultural  products  exported  there  are  four  only 
which  constitute  nearly  92  per  cent,  of  the  total  Talue  of  exports, 
viz,, Corn,  Wheat,  Meats  and  Cotton,  but  even  including  these,  we 
consume  in  this  country  90  per  cent,  of  the  products  of  our  agri- 
culture. 

Sixth  : — I  have  taken  the  Statistics  of  Production  of  our  leading 
crops  during  the  years  1866  to  1886  both  inclusive,  and,  dividing 
this  into  three  periods  of  seven  years  each,  I  find  that  during  the 
second  period  the  total  crop  production  increased  pract  cally  the 
same  upon  the  average  with  the  increase  in  acreage  devoted  to 
these  crops  over  the  acreage  and  yield  of  the  first  period.  The  in- 
crease in  acreage  averaged  35  per  cent.,  and  that  of  crops  33  per 
cent,  more  during   the  second   than  during   the  first  period. 

But  during  the  third,  period  the  average  increase  in  acreage 
was  45  per  cent,  while  the  average  increase  of  crops  was  but  35  per 
cent.,  thus  showing  a  falling  off  in  average  acreage  production  of 
the  leading  crops  of  the  United  States  of  nearly  seven  and  one- 
half  per  cent. 

I  might  stop  here,  but  as  the  reason  for  my  fiiith  is  here  in  a 
nut  shell,  I  know  you  will  endure  a  brief  recapitulation  of  the 
foregoing  points  : 

1st.  Our  population  is  increasing  at  the  rate  of  nearly  3  per 
cent,  a  year. 

2nd.  Our  consumers  of  agricultural  products  are  increasing 
at  a  moie  rapid  rate  by  far  than  are  the  producers. 

3rd.  At  present  we  consume  90  per  cent,  of  our  agricultural 
products. 

4th.  The  average  crop  producing  capacity  of  our  soils  is 
diminishing  in  the  United  States, 

5th.  From  1866  to  '86  the  area  devoted  to  our  leading  cro]  s 
increased  127  per  cent,  while  our  population  increased  duiing  this 
period  69  per  cent,  and  while  everything  points  to  the  fact  that 
our  arable  land  is  largely  occupied,  as  witness  the  haste  to  possess 
Oklahoma,  and  the  efforts  to  reclaim  by  irrigation  the  arid  regions 
of  the  west,  there  appears  to  be  no  evidence  that  our  population 
will  not  steadily  increase. 

At  present  90  per  cent,  of  our  pre  ducts  are  consumed  at  home, 
or  95  per  cent,,  not  counting  tobacco  and  cotton.      It  scarcely  ap- 


pears  as  a  hazardous  prediction  that  within  five  years,  and  perhaps 
even  sooner,  the  home  demand  may  fully  equal  the  supply  of  our 
agricultural  jiroducts,  and  then,  if  they  are  wise,  the  farmers  of 
the  country  will  be  tlie  masters  of  the  situation,  and  those  words 
of  Napoleon  that  *' agriculture  is  the  basis  and  strength  of  all 
national  prosperity/'  will  be  recognized  as  sober  truth. 

Awaiting  then,  as  I  think  wo  may,  in  confident  hope  the  good 
time  so  near  at  hand,  what,  we  may  stop  to  inquire,  are  the  duties 
of  the  hour;  and  I  would  say  firdt,  study  economy  in  production. 
Suppose  you  ask  any  of  the  shop  keepers  of  Geneva  whether  they 
know  what  their  nails,  the  sugar;  the  cloth  which  they  sell  you 
cost  them,  would  they  not  think  you  either  jesting  or  recently 
escaped  from  Willard  Asylum  ?  But  can  our  farmers  tell  these 
same  dealers  what  their  milk,  butter,  eggs,  hay,  oats  or  corn  has 
cost  them  to  produce  ?  Can  our  dairymen  tell  the  actual  or  rela- 
tive value  of  the  several  members  of  their  herd,  which  are  a 
source  of  profit,  which  pay  their  way,  which  are  being  kept  at 
actual  loss  ?  Does  the  farmer  who  is  drawing  his  hay  to  market 
reflect  that  every  ton  of  hay  contains  of  fertilizing  constituents,  as 
Dr.  Geessmann,  of  Massachusetts,  says,  from  $5.93  to  $9.60  worth 
of  fertilizing  constituents,  or  as  an  average  for  the  last  quarter  of 
a  century  shows  in  New  York  $6.37  worth  in  every  $10  worth  of 
hay  sold?  And  yet  our  farms  need  this  very  fertilizing  material 
which  this  hay  contains,  and  which,  by  feeding  it,  might  be  kept 
upon  the  farms  and  largely  increase  the  fertility  of  our  lands. 

And  in  this  connection,  I  wish  to  congratulate  the  farmers  of 
New  York,  who  find  it  necessary  to  purchase  the  so-called  com- 
mercial fertilizers,  that  the  late  legislature,  most  wisely,  as  I  think, 
have  provided  the  means  by  which  the  purchaser  of  these  products 
may  in  future  be  protected,  through  the  systematic  analysis  of 
these  fertilizers  at  your  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  in  Geneva. 

As  evidence  of  the  need  and  the  extent  of  this  protection  I 
would  quote  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  Henderson,  of  Georgia, 
who  says  that  such  analyses  saved  the  state  one  and  a  half  million 
dol'ars  in  a  single  year;  and  Dr.  Battle,  Director  of  the  N.  C. 
ExpTiment  Station,  declares  that  the  fertilizer  control  in  that 
state  has  during  the  past  few  years  resulted  in  saving  millions  of 
dollars  to  the  farmers  of  that  state.  Taere  can  be  no  room  for 
doubt  that  hereafber  the  farmers  of  Njw  York  will  reap  an  equal 


pecuniary  benefit,  as  also  through  the  publication  of  results  and 
discussion  of  the  principles  of  fertilization,  practice  far  greater 
economy  in  the  saving  of  home  supplies  now  largely  wasted,  as 
also  make  more  intelligent  use  of  these  valuable  fertilizers,  which 
this  wise  provision  of  the  Legislature  has  made  possible. 

But  in  the  matter  of  economy,  I  must  not  fail  to  call  your  at- 
tention to  the  great  economy  possible  in  feeding  our  animals. 

Do  not  understand  me  as  referring  to  any  limiting  of  rations. 
Do  not  make  the  mistake  of  supposing  that  profit  begins  except 
when  the  maintenance  ration  is  exceeded,  and  such  profit  increases 
with  the  rate  of  such  excess  which  may  be  properly  utilized  by  the 
animal  either  in  the  production  of  milk  or  the  increase  of  growth. 

Let  me  indicate  the  possibilities,  yes,  the  probabilities  which 
lie  in  this  direction  for  the  intelligent  farmer.  Two  of  our  lead- 
ing New  York  dairymen  secure  practically  the  same  average  pro- 
duct in  butter  from  their  herds,  and  their  results  are  nearly  three 
times  the  average  results  secured  in  the  state.  But  one  of  these 
feeds  a  ration  costing  14  cents  daily  per  cow,  the  other,  getting  no 
better  result,  feeds  his  cow  a  ration  costing  exactly  double,  28  cents 
per  day.  But  one  cent  a  day  saved  upon  the  dairy  cows  of  this 
state  means  a  saving  of  over  116,000  a  day,  a  saving  of  nearly 
$6,000,000  a  year  upon  our  cows  alone.  This  is  one  of  the  prac- 
tical problems  upon  which  your  Experiment  Station  is  engaged. 

And  in  this  connection  I  cannot  forbear  mention  of  a  friendly 
criticism  of  one  of  our  recent  bulletins  in  which  these  very  im- 
portant matters  were  discussed,  for  while  this  editor  was  pleased 
to  say  that  *Hhis  report  is  of  more  than  ordinary  interest  to  breed- 
ers of  cattle^'  he  adds  that  '*this  book  of  tables  requires  the 
most  careful  study  for  at  least  a  day  for  the  reader  to  begin  to  ob- 
tain an  idea  of  its  contents  and  teachings.  ^^ 

I  recall  the  case  of  the  Irishman,  who,  after  prolonged  ab- 
seace  was  revisiting  the  old  country,  and  being  shown  the  great 
changes  and  improvements  which  had  taken  place  during  his  ab- 
sence, at  last  having  had  pointed  out  a  new  church  just  com- 
pleted, he  exclaimed,  "  Well,  that  beats  the  very  divil !"  when  his 
companion  replied:  ^'  Ah,  Pat,  my  boy,  that  was  the  very  intintion.^' 

Here  is  a  bulletin  confessedly  crammed  with  information  of 
the  greatest  practical  value  to  our  dairymen,  whose  capital  is  in- 


9 

vested  in,  and  whose  labor  is  given  to,  this  industry  ;  but  for  the 
dairyman  to  possess  himself  of  this  valuable  information  ^Mt  re- 
quires the  most  careful  study  for  at  least  a  day."  Again  I  ask,  is 
there  any  business  which  can  be  successfully  conducted  if  but  a 
day  is  given  to  the  careful  study  of  the  fundamental  principles 
which  govern  it  ?  Think  of  the  intense  study  and  thought  which, 
not  for  one  day,  but  for  every  day  in  the  year,  is  given  by  the  busi- 
ness and  professional  men  of  this  city  to  the  details  of  their  work. 
We  hear  much  said  about  the  necessity  that  more  of  brain  and 
;ess  of  hand  labor  be  put  into  the  work  of  the  farm,  and  yet  a 
protest  arises — friendly  it  is  trtte,  but  none  the  less  a  protest — be- 
cause the  dairyman  is  called  upon  to  devote  two  or  three  long 
winter  evenings  to  a  careful  study  of  the  principles  of  his  business. 

Think,  too,  of  the  effect  upon  our  young  men,  who  we  hope 
to  see  devoting  themselves  to  what  Washington  declared  to  be  *Hhe 
most  noble,  the  most  healthful,  and  the  most  useful  occupation  of 
man,"  if  to  them  the  impression  is  to  be  given  that  their  lives  are 
to  be  spent  in  a  business  demanding  less  of  careful  study  and  offer- 
ing less  reward  for  the  highest  exercise  of  their  intellectual  facul- 
ties than  other  fields  of  labor. 

As  for  myself,  after  having  spent  many  years  of  my  life  in 
intimate  association  with  professional  men,  college  professors, 
doctors  of  medicine,  and  scientists,  with  many  warm  friends  among 
the  legal  profession,  and  even  among  the  clergy,  I  can  truthfully 
declare  that  I  know  of  no  profession,  occupation,  or  business 
which  demands  for  its  intelligent  conduct  and  which  offers  greater 
rewards  to  careful  study  than  does  agriculture  in  its  several  branches; 
none  more  attractive  to  a  man  of  well-rounded,  symmetrical,  in- 
tellectual and  physical  development,  totus,  teres  atque  rotundus. 

Never,  perhaps,  in  the  history  of  the  world  has  there  been 
such  an  intellectual  awakening  among  those  engaged  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits  as  at  this  time.  Agricultural  papers  abound,  agri- 
cultural colleges  and  experiment  stations,  farmers  institutes  and 
clubs,  the  Grange,  Alliance  and  numberless  other  agencies  testify 
to  this  great  uprising.  And  yet  with  all  this  multiplicity  of 
sources  ot*  information  there  is  reason  to  fear  that  our  actual  prac- 
tice does  not  keep  pace  with  our  acquired  knowledge. 

You  remember  the  story  of  the  old  rector  called  in  charge  of 
the  new  parish,  who  gave  his  charge  a  tremendous  sermon  against 


10 

lying,  in  which  he  eloquently  set  forth  the  enormity  of  this  sin. 
It  furnished  a  topic  of  discussion  in  the  parish  till  the  following 
Sunday,  when  to  the  surprise  of  his  flock  he  repeated  the  discourse 
with  amplification.  This  was  counted  an  eccentricity  on  the  part 
of  the  old  rector,  but  when  he  gave  them  this  powerful  sermon  a 
third  time,  it  appeared  so  personal  that  a  committee  was  appoint- 
ed to  wait  upon  the  rector  and  remonstrate  with  him  against  what 
seemed  a  personal  affront.  He  received  them  in  his  study  and 
upon  hearing  the  delegation  of  malcontents,  he  asked  them  whether 
there  were  any  liars  still  in  the  parish  They  were  compelled  to 
admit  that  a  small  number  could  be  found.  Well,  then,  said  the 
bluff  old  rector,  you  just  go  and  tell  them  that  when  they  will  stop 
lying,  I  will  stop  preaching  against  its  sinfulness.  I  fear  those 
sermons  are  still  continued,  but  seriously,  is  it  not  so  with  our 
agricultural  practice  as  with  our  morals,  we  know  the  right  and 
yet  the  wrong  pursue.  We  wrangle  over  hair  splitting  points  of 
theology  and  yet  there  are  those  who  violate  every  precept  of  the 
decalogue. 

But  I  wish  to  say  a  word  as  to  what  seems  to  me  the  wisest 
policy  to  pursue  for^the  immediate  future.  We  have  seen  tliat  if 
there  is  any  overproduction  it  must  obviously  be  of  those  products 
which  are  exported  and  they  are  very  few  in  number  ;  corn,  wheat, 
meats  and  cotton  constituting  as  I  have  said  92  per  cent,  of  our 
exports.  On  the  other  hand  we  import  annually  over  $300,000,000 
worth  of  agricultural  products,  many  of  which  may  be,  I  am  sure, 
profitably  produced  in  this  country,  for  example,  sugar  and  mo- 
lasses, wool,  hides,  barley,  fibers  and  horses,  these  alone  aggregat- 
ing $170,000,000  in  value  or  56  per  cent,  of  our  imported  agricul- 
tural products. 

To  me  it  would  seem  wise  to  diminish  by  a  little  the  production 
of  those  products  which  are  in  excess  of  our  wants  and  seek  to 
produce  those  products  for  which  the  demand  exceeds  the  home 
supply. 

Let  me  mention  only  the  matter  of  sugar  and  molasses,  for 
which  we  annually  expend  about  one  hundred  million  dollars. 
I  have  a  sample  of  sugar  in  my  possession  representing  the 
result  of  an  extended  experiment  with  several  hundred  tons  o^ 
cane,  which  I  have  no  doubt  can  be  produced  at  an  expense  not 
exceeding  one  cent  a   pound  ;  and,  within   twenty-five  miles   of 


11 

where  we  now  are,  was  produced,  at  great  profit,  a  sample  of  syrup 
as  good  or  better  than  any  sold  in  the  State  of  New  York. 

I  should  like  to  have  said  something  about  our  roads  and  high- 
ways but  I  forbear  only  observing  that  probably  no  civilized  and 
few  uncivilized  countries  have  roads  so  poor  as  ours.  While  in 
many  and  most  things  we  have  as  a  people  made  enormous  strides 
in  advance  and  are  the  wonder  of  the  world  for  our  achievements, 
no  progress  has  been  made  in  the  matter  of  our  common  roads  for 
half  century.  Their  present  condition  is  anomaly  and  a  reproach 
to  us  as  people,  which  should  not  be  suffered  to  continue. 

,  I  regret  to  observe  that  seiteral  of  our  newspapers  refer  to  the 
earnest  recommendations  of  our  chief  executive  in  behalf  of  the 
improvement  of  our  roads  as  *^  the  pet  scheme  of  the  Governor/' 
Now  in  what  I  have  to  say  to-day  I  desire  to  avoid  any  suspicion 
of  politics,  while  recognizing  the  fact  that  everything  that  has  to 
do  with  production  and  consumption  is  a  question  inevitably  of 
political  economy.  But  in  reference  to  this  matter  of  roads,  it 
seems  to  me  that  it  should  be  for  the  future  ^^the  pet  scheme '^ 
of  every  man,  whether  democrat,  republican  or  mugwump,  and 
of  every  woman  and  child  also,  until  some  action  shall  be  taken 
looking  to  their  permanent  improvement.  Within  a  week  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  riding  over  a  stretch  of  macadamized  road  nine 
miles  in  length,  which  within  two  years  has  been  laid  in  one  of  the 
New  England  States,  and  I  could  not  hwt  think  that  such  a  road^ 
like  a  thing  of  beauty,  was  a  joy  forever.  Consider  for  a  moment 
the  enormous  tax  which  our  roads  involve,  without  considering 
even  the  millions  upon  millions  of  dollars  which  during  the  past 
half  century  have  been  expended  upon  our  roads  without  at  pres- 
ent any  evidence  of  improvement  in  their  condition  ;  consider 
the  wear  and  tear  of  horses,  harnesses  and  vehicles  which  the  con- 
dition of  our  roads  for  months  in  the  year  involves  ;  consider  the 
loss  of  time,  which  also  is  money,  and  the  wear  and  tear  upon 
one's  patience,  for  I  doubt  whether  grace  has  been  given  to  any 
sufficient  to  sustain  him  for  a  ten-mile  drive  over  any  of  our  roads 
during  several  mqnths  of  the  year. 

I  should  like  to  have  spoken  of  the  money  value  of  the  beautiful 
about  us,  in  trees  and  lawns  and  flowers.  Do  not  your  judges  one 
and  all  give  their  prizes,  other  things  being  equal,  always  to  that 
which   is  most  beautiful.       What   piece  of    property   animate  or 


12 


inanimate  is  not  enhanced  by  possessing  the  elements  of  beauty  ? 
Plant  trees.  Let  me  tell  you  of  my  personal  experience  as  showing 
what  one  liberal-minded,  public-spirited  man  may  do  to  make  his 
memory  blessed. 

During  my  senior  year  while  sitting  in  my  college  room  one  day? 
a  rap  at  the  door  was  followed  by  the  entrance  of  an  old  gentleman 
of  over  80  who  came  he  said  to  again  visit  his  old  room,  which  he 
as  a  student  had  occupied  over  60  years  before,  and  iuvwhich  I  was 
to  him  almost  an  intruder.  He  also  wished  to  borrow  the  keys  of 
one  of  the  libraries,  that  he  might  see  how  it  had  grown  since  he 
was  librarian  over  60  years  ago.  Upon  returning  from  his  visit  to 
the  library  he  told  me  how  when  he  was  appointed  librarian  he 
had  taken  the  library  in  a  wheelbarrow  down  to  the  book  binders 
to  be  rebound.  All  in  a  barrow  load,  and  I  could  not  but  think, 
said  he,  how  many  wagon  loads  it  would  take  to  carry  the  present 
library.  But  he  added,  that  is  nothing  to  the  other  changes  I  see 
about  me.  Why,  said  he,  when  I  was  a  senior  I  looked  out  of  that 
window  and  saw  General  Hillhouse  while  he  was  setting  out  the 
elm  saplings  along  that  street,  and  what  a  glorious  sight  they  are 
to-day. 

Aye,  old  man,  glorious  indeed  they  are,  and  to-day  the  crown- 
ing glory  of  that  beautiful  city  are  those  overarching  vaults  of 
green,  which  have  made  the  ''  Elm  City'^'  a  synonym  for  beauty 
wherever  upon  this  planet  the  English  language  is  spoken,  and, 
need  I  say  it,  that  they  have  added  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dol- 
lars to  the  value  of  the  real  estate. 

Finally,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  let  me  conclude  by  urging  upon 
your  most  earnest  consideration  the  most  important  matter  of  all 
in  my  Judgment,  one  which,  receiving  the  attention  due  its  para- 
mount importance  will  open  up  the  way  for  every  good  which  is 
possible  to  the  race  and  hasten  the  time  when  the  highest  success 
will  crown  our  efforts  in  every  direction. 

Fichtesaid  that  ''if  Germany  was  ever  to  be  free  and  strong 
it  would  be  by  becoming  the  chief  educational  state  in  Europe; 
and  realize  that  the  education  of  its  youth  was  the  highest  care  of 
the  nation.'^ 

Milton  said  of  England  that  "  the  reforming  of  education  is 
one  of  the  greatest  and  noblest  of  designs  that  can  be  thought  of 
and  for  the  want  of  which  this  nation  perishes." 


13 

In  his  volume  upon  Systematic  Technical  Education  in  Eu- 
rope by  Scott  Russell,  which  he  dictates  to  the  Queen,  he  said, 
twenty  years  ago:  '^  There  are  now  better  educated  nations  in 
Europe  than  the  English  "  and  he  '*  entreats  her  Majesty  gracious- 
ly to  consider  the  case  of  the  uneducated  English  folk^  who  are 
now  suffering  great  misfortune  in  their  Trades,  Commerce  and 
Manufactures,  as  well  as  in  their  social,  moral  and  intellectual  con- 
dition, through  having  been  neglected  and  allowed  to  fall  behind 
other  nations,  better  cared  for,  by  the  men  whose  duty  it  was  to 
lead  as  well  as  govern  the  people." 

Permit  me  again  to  illustrate  by  recalling  to  your  minds  a 
chapter  from  secular  history,  and  this  also  relating  to  a  city  brought 
to  the  very  verge  of  despair  by  a  besieging  army. 

During  those  cruel  wars  of  Phillip  II,  when  the  Spanish  army 
invaded  Holland  and  laid  siege  to  the  city  of  Leyden  in  1574: — 
who  has  not  heard  the  terrible  story  ?  How  that  beleagured  city, 
wasted  by  famine,  saw  6,000  corpses  lying  in  its  streets  out  of  a 
population  of  only  20,000  ;  and  how  in  its  last  extremity,  the 
dykes  being  cut,  the  inrushing  sea  swept  the  invading  hosts  from 
the  country,  and  brought  relief  in  the  flotilla  of  William,  Prince 
of  Orange.  You  will  recall  how,  in  reward  for  their  consummate 
bravery  and  devotion,  the  Prince  offered  them  the  alternative  of 
entire  release  from  all  taxes  for  a  long  period  of  years,  or  the 
establishment  of  a  University  in  their  city  ;  and  how  this  people, 
impoverished  by  v/ar,  exhausted  by  famine,  added  a  crowning 
glory  to  their  achievements  by  accepting  the  latter,  and.  during  the 
300  years  which  has  marked  the  life  and  growth  of  this  grand  old 
University  of  Leyden,  no  one  has  been  found  to  say  that  they 
chose  not  wisely.  Recall  a  few  of  those  students  and  teachers  of 
Leyden  whose  influence  has  largely  shaped  the  affairs  of  the  world 
for  centuries  :  Boerhaave,  the  most  celebrated  physician  of  his 
century;  the  younger  Scaliger,  the  '*  Father  of  Chronological  Sci- 
ence;" Arminius,  the  famous  theologian,  whose  thoughts  are  to- 
day a  mighty  power  in  Christendom  ;  Descartes,  the  distinguished 
philosopher  and  mathematician;  Grotius,  that  ^'monster  of 
erudition"  as  he   was  called,  the  '^  Father  of   International  Law." 

Never  was  there  a  time  when  those  words  of  Job  and  Solomon — 
'*  The  price  of  wisdom  is  above  rubies,"  and  '*how  much  better  is 


14 

wisdom  than  gold " — were  so  true  as  to-day.  ''  Knowledge  is 
power  "  not  only,  but  it  is  wealth. 

I  recall  a  little  inland  town  in  one  of  the  New  England  Statse 
which  for  half  century  had  become  famous  for  its  eminent  men, 
for  whenever  the  affairs  of  state  demanded,  this  town  sent  men 
equal  to  any  emergency.  Such  men  as  really  constitute  a  state, 
better  far  than  "  high  raised  battlements  and  labored  mound,  thick 
walls  and  moated  gates  "  in  those  immortal  lines  of  Sir  William 
Jones.  I  once  asked  one  familiar  with  the  history  of  that  section 
the'  explanation,  when  he  told  me  that  it  doubtless  all  arose  from 
a  good  town  library  which  had  been  established  nearly  a  century 
before  and  the  debating  club  which  developed  the  young  men  of 
that  community  ;  leading  them  to  acquire  and  apply  their  informa- 
tion. 

As  I  would  urge  upon  the  farmer  that  he  cultivate  his  fields, 
rather  than  to  abandon  them  to  weeds  and  brambles,  so  would  I 
urge  upon  them,  especially  the  young  men,  that  they  cultivate 
their  minds  and  fill  them  with  lofty  thoughts,  for  no  mind  can 
long  remain  quite  empty,  but  like  an  untenanted  house,  rats  and 
bats  and  owls  must  soon  possess  it. 

It  is  well  also  to  bear  constantly  in  mind  that,  as  yet,  we  have 
not  even  begun  to  approach  the  limit  of  even  profitable  production 
upon  our  lands, 

I  have  from  a  friend  an  account  of  his  personal  observations 
in  certain  sections  of  Europe,  which  are  entirely  in  accord  with 
the  statement  of  a  recent  writer  in  the  Forum,  Prince  Kropotkin, 
who  states  that  in  the  district  of  Saffelare  in  East  Flanders,  com- 
prising 37,000  acres  of  originally  unproductive  sandy  soil,  30,000 
inhabitants  devoted  wholly  to  agriculture,  not  only  obtain  support 
but  actually  export  agricultural  products,  paying  from  $15  to  $25 
per  acre  rent  for  their  land,  two-thirds  of  which  is  devoted  to 
cereals,  flax  and  potatoes,  while  the  remaining  third  supports  a 
total  of  10,720  cattle,  3,800  sheep,  1,815  horses,  6,550  swine,  or  a 
total  of  22,885  animals. 

Also,  upon  the  Island  of  Jersey,  Mr.  Bear,  an  English  agri- 
cultural writer,  states  that  13  acres,  un^er  cultivation  by  Mr. 
Bashford,  yields  an  amount  of  products  which '' greatly  exceed 
those  of   an  ordinary  English  farm  of  1,300  acres." 


15 

These  examples  teach  us  what  is  possible  in  the  future  of  Agri- 
culture in  America. 

The  importance  of  the  grass  crop  may  be,  and  we  think  gen- 
erally is,  overlooked  by  most  people.  The  value  of  our  hay  crop 
in  New  York  State  was,  in  1H88,  more  than  three-fourths  of  a 
million  dollars  greater  than  that  of  all  the  corn,  wheat,  rye,  barley, 
oats,  buckwheat  and  tobacco  crops  combined.  Counting  all  these, 
[including  hay]  at  100  per  cent.,  the  hay  crop  comprised  53.2  per 
cent.,  and  all  the  others  only  40,8  percent. 

But  more  striking  even  than  this  is  the  rate  at  which  the  ^ay 
crop  has  been  falling  off  while  the  most  important  of  the  other 
crops  have  nearly  or  quite  held  their  own. 

This  steady  decline  in  the  hay  crop  has  gone  on,  in  part,  no 
doubt  from  the  fact  that  the  average  farmer  uses  his  manure  on 
the  cultivated  crops,  which  the  hay  crop  has  thus  been  regularly 
contributing  to  support,  while  itself  neglected.  Not  only  is  the 
value  greater,  but  the  acreage  of  the  hay  crop  stands  to  that  of 
all  the  others,  as  55  to  45, 

This  showing  does  not  include  pasture  grass,  which  supports 
almost  the  whole  of  our  dairy,  sheep  and  growing  stock  about  half 
the  year,  and  is  second  to  no  other  than  the  hay  crop  itself,  if  in- 
deed it  is  second  in  value  to  that. 

It  seems  desirable  that  some  special  attention  be  given  to  im- 
proved methods  of  culture  to  finding  out  the  best  species  for  hay 
and  grazing  and  finally,  for  diffusing  a  better  knowledge  of  some 
of  the  forage  species  of  this  great  family  of  useful  plants. 


ilnh 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 
LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 

9Dec'58Jf 

REC'D  LD 

NOV  26  1958 

M«Y  ..          IQR^ 

ri^rrrtD 

WAi_i^^3 

.<;,1S^ 

nEC'P  LD 

\ 

JRH  >  v^  «-• 

'(?s!ltro]ire'i''           univ^^gss.. 

YC  58651 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


